Devon Charity.

DEVON CHARITY .

THE annual meeting of the Committee of Petitions for the Province of Devon was held on the 29 th ult ., at the Freemasons' Hall , Plymouth , Bro . F . B . Westlake , in the absence

of the Chairman , presiding . Tbe attendance was small , in consequence of the inclement weather and the almost impassable state of the roads in some parts of the Province .

Applications for relief were dealt with , and assistance was verted to a late member of 156 , the widow of a late member of 1205 , ' a * late member of 1247 , and the widow of the late W . M . of

1091 ; who was accidently killed under very distressing circumstances about a month ago . Bro . W . G . Sogers was re-elected chairman , Bro . J . B . Gover Secretary , and Bro . Rev . W . Whittley the representative of the Committee in London .

West Lancashire Charity.

WEST LANCASHIRE CHARITY .

UNDEE the presidency of Bro . T . H . W . Walker P . G . Treas . a meeting of the General Committee of the West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution was held on the 1 st inst ., at the Masonic Hall , Hope Street , Liverpool , There were

ten applicants for tbe benefit of the Educational Fund , three for the privileges of the combined fund , and ten for grants from the advancement fund . The cases were fully considered and generously dealt with , says the " Liverpool Mercury . "

Thoughts On The Entered Apprentice Degree.

THOUGHTS ON THE ENTERED APPRENTICE DEGREE .

IF I were called upon to decide as to which one of the several Masonic degrees was the inost important , as to which one calls for the most careful explanation at the hands of the Worshipful Master , I would answer at once " The Entered Apprentice . " It is true that this degree does not usually receive

much consideration , the trend of interest setting fairly towards the Master ' s degree . In many excellent Lodges the E . A . lecture is ordinarily postponed to a more convenient season which lags behind the awaking zeal of the young Brother until the pressure of circumstances and his natural desire for more

light compel him to deem it of little importance . Anciently , we are informed , it was customary for the ( newly-made Brother to abide for a period within the walls of the Entered Apprentice Lodge , there to be instructed in the first principles of correct

Masonic life and conduct . He was not permitted to advance until he had given satisfactory evidence of his knowledge , not only of what pertained , per se , to the first degree , and differentiated it from the other symbolic degrees , but also and particularly of what its real significance was .

Not the veiled mysteries of the other degrees were at this time made manifest to him , but he was instructed in such manner as to prepare him for a logical and beautiful unfolding of the lessons partly given and partly hinted at upon his feet journey towards the East . The fallow ground of his

understanding was ploughed , harrowed and sowed , and he was given to believe that thorns and thistles would not spring up from the good wheat committed to the fostering care of our Mother Earth . He could confidently expect a harvest commensurate with the quality of the seed , for it is quality that counts , after

all . He sought admission to the Lodge in order to learn , and his faltering steps under guidance of a true and trusty friend upon whose fidelity he might with confidence rely , were directed towards a goal he could indeed but dimly discern , but of whose existence he was inwardly conscious because it must of necessity

lie before him . If he reflected upon the matter at all , and if he was qualified to become a good Mason , he must have thought deeply , he would have known that within the husk of ceremonial

and ritual lay the ripened grain of Masonic truth , and that beyond the symbols of Square and Compasses stretched the great realms of knowledge whose metes and bounds are measured and circumscribed by these Masonic implements .

The very questions with which he was plied must have aroused within his soul tbe most profound inquiries of time and eternity , and have brought him face to face with the great mysteries of Here and the Hereafter . In the whole course of his subsequent Masonic life no more

fitting opportunity could arise for impressing upon him the true meaning of Masonry . This could be done without in the least trenching upon the domain of the other degrees , and without plunging him into the deep waters of interpretation . He could be

given to know that Masonry is the oldest form of Natural religion , that its foundation stone is a living faith in God , and that it has no secrets except from those who scoff at its teachings . As an Entered Apprentice he could be taught that there is an everliving , self-existent God , that man is not only responsible to

Thoughts On The Entered Apprentice Degree.

Him but conscious of that responsibility , that man is a free agent wilfully choosing good or evil , that God is his friend and guide , and that a virtuous , well-ordered life merits and will receive the approbation of the Almighty . These are but few of the lessons that can be derived , in the

most logical manner , from the very first section of the degree . One does not have to wait for the gradual unfolding of the symbolic degrees before he can appreciate the true meaning of Masonry ; it stares him in the face before ever he stands as a cornerstone to sustain the weight of the explanations aud admonitions of the F . C . and M . M . degrees .

•No part of Masonry is more replete with suggestions as to the highest type of religion , fuller of help in the everyday affairs of everyday life , more simple or more beautiful than the first

degree . It is , perhaps , more ancient than any of the others , and comes nearer the primitive type . Its philosophy is broader , its philanthropy more intense , its essence more spiritual and heavenly than anything that follows it .

The full-blown rose that has opened its glowing heart to the warm kiss of June may be more attractive to the casual observer , but the unfolding bud which hath within its emerald

walls the promise and potency of fragrance and beauty , which half conceals and half reveals the glorious handiwork of nature , is possessed of a double attractiveness—what it is and what it will be .

It is thus with the Entered Apprentice degree , and the more one reflects upon Masonry and its relations to God and man , the more will it appear that the first steps are the most important .

Brethren , let us study the first degree more , without neglecting the others . It is a vast storehouse of Masonic lore , hard to get at , but satisfying to the soul when once possessed . — W . P . B ., in " Masonic Guide . "

"A Sprig Of Acacia."

" A SPRIG OF ACACIA . "

ON Friday , 18 th ult ., Bro . Joseph Nicholson , Maryport , died at the age of eighty-seven years . The deceased was one of the oldest and most widely known Freemasons in the north of England , having been honourably associated with the Craft since

1835 , when he became a member of St . John ' s Lodge , No . 327 , Wigton , and two years later he was exalted to the degree of Eoyal Arch Mason in St . John ' s Chapter , 327 , Wigton , of which Chapter he was M . E . Z . At the time of his death Bro . Nicholson was P . P . S . G . W ., P . M . of Perseverance Lodge , 371 , Maryport ,

which he formed in 1840 , and in connection with which he held the office of Treasurer and Almoner for nearly fifty years . He was founder and first M . E . Z . of Nicholson Chapter , 371 , Maryport , P . P . G . J . of the Province , founder and first W . M . of the Whitwell Lodge Mark Master Masons , 151 , and P . P . S . G . W . of

the Province . On the death of Colonel Whitwell , M . P ., E . W . D . P . G . M . M . of Cumberland and Westmorland , the vacant office was offered to Brother Nicholson by the late E . W . P . G . M . M . M . the Earl of Bective , but he declined the appointment , suggesting that the honour should devolve upon the

present E . VV . D . P . G . M . M . M . Col . F . R . Sewell , of Brandlinghyll . In the Jubilee year the Most Worshipful Grand Mark Master conferred upon him the office of Past Grand Deacon of England . He was founder and P . M . of the W . M . Sewell Council Allied Masonic Degrees ; founder and Past Commander of the Collin

Eoyal Ark Mariners Lodge ; founder of the Sewell M ark Lodge , Egremont ; and the F . E . Sewell Eoyal Ark Mariners Lodge , Whitehaven . A few years ago the deceased subscribed a handsome sum to the Eoyal Masonic Benevolent Institution , and presented the robes to the Nicholson Chapter , 371 , Maryport . — " Kendal News . "

THE death of Bro . William Woodward took place at Burnham , on the 1 st . Deceased had attained the honoured age of eightyfive years , and was one of the oldest inhabitants of the town in which he lived . He was a member of the Eural Philanthropic Lodge , Highbridge , and of the Vale of Jehosophat Chapter , No .

291 , of which he was Tyler for some forty-five successive years , until his retirement through indisposition eighteen months ago . Bro . Woodward was also a member of the St . Kew Lodge , meeting at Weston-super-Mare , and Past Grand Tyler of Somerset .

THE funeral of Bro . Peter Millar Larsen took place on the 30 th ult ., at Smithdown Eoad Cemetery , Liverpool . The deceased had in his younger days taken a great interest in Freemasonry , and was a Past Master of the Downshire Lodge , No . 594 . Several Brethren were present at the grave side .

THE remains of Bro . Charles E . Webster , of the George Hotel , West Derby Eoad , Liverpool , were interred on the 24 th ult ., at Smithdown Road Cemetery , among those present being several members of the Lodge of which the deceased had been a member .